Olympic beach volleyball court, explained: Why Eiffel Tower serves as picturesque backdrop for 2024 Paris Games

The first training session for the Olympic beach volleyball duos took place Wednesday, with a familiar facade looming in the background.

This year's Games will feature a court in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower, located in the Jardins du Trocadéro at Champ-de-Mars Park. There have been several picturesque venues since the sport became an official Olympic event at the Atlanta Games in 1996, but none directly underneath such an iconic monument.

The Norwegian men and American women look to defend their countries' respective gold medals from the 2021 Tokyo Games at the scenic location as spectators get a view of both quality competition and Paris' famed marker.

So how did the Olympics build a sand court in the middle of the landlocked city? Here's everything you need to know about the creation of one of the 2024 Games' best venues.

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Beach volleyball court at the Eiffel Tower, explained

According to the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) , approximately 2,000 metric tonnes of sand were laid across the competition, warm-up and training courts underneath the Eiffel Tower. That's close to 4.4 million pounds of sand, all sourced from the nearby MontGru-Saint-Hilaire sand quarry just 62 miles from the venue.

The sand is provided by Sibelco, the same provider that supplied sand for the 2004 Athens Games, 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio Games. Each court in Paris will have a depth of 15.7 inches to ensure the highest quality playing surface for the athletes.

The stadium itself will also host the Blind football competitions during the Paralympic games, and the sand will be donated to local beach volleyball facilities in Paris after the Olympics conclude.

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Olympic beach volleyball locations

The Eiffel Tower courts aren't the only Olympic beach volleyball venue that has been situated in an iconic location. While the event began on an artificial court at Atlanta Beach in the 1996 Games, it has twice been held in picturesque coastal locations.

The 2000 Games in Sydney placed the beach volleyball court on the famous Bondi Beach. Then, the event was played on artificial courts from 2004 to 2012, with the London tournament held at Horse Guards Parade, surrounded by historic buildings.

In Rio in 2016, the beach volleyball stadium was constructed on none other than the world famous Copacabana Beach with the city's trademark mountains marking the backdrop.

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For the 2021 Games in Tokyo, beach volleyball was also held on an artificial court in Shiokaze Park. The venue could seat 12,000 despite the COVID-19 pandemic only allowing limited spectators. This year marks the first time since before the pandemic that the venue will function at full capacity.

2024 Olympic beach volleyball schedule

• Preliminary round: July 27-Aug. 3
• Round of 16: Aug. 3-Aug. 5
• Quarterfinals: Aug. 6 and Aug. 7
• Semifinals: Aug. 8
• Women's gold and bronze medal games: Aug. 9
• Men's gold and bronze medal games: Aug. 10